U.S. Congress - POLS 217
| Georgia Duerst-Lahti |
Spring 2008 |
| x 2333 |
office: MI 205 |
| Office Hours: |
M 1-2; Th 12-1 |
| Drop-in |
M 4-5; T, Th 3-4 |
| Email |
duerstgj@beloit.edu |
Congress is an institution most Americans love to hate, even while we generally like our own members of congress. This orientation toward congress stands in stark contrast to its place in the public mind upon the founding. Then, it was deemed the premiere institution, the guarantor of republican democracy, or the form of government that separated the United States from all other governments of the time. The public, and its orientation toward representative democracy, certainly has changed over the past 200 years; congress has also. As an institution, it has been subject to considerable reconstitutive change and evolutionary reform. Further, configurations of partisanship in the bicameral legislature and executive branch create differences in each congress (i.e., 107th, 109th). Understanding this institution remains and ongoing project due to change of personnel and policy priorities, reform, and a session’s party control, majority size, and critical events. We will approach the project intensively, covering foundational background, contemporary research, and the critical environment that results from divided responsibility with the president and between houses. We also will consider some unorthodox patterns of recent congresses for policy making. The course demands a great deal from students. I hope in the end that you believe the understanding you have gained is worth your effort.
Learning Goals:
- To gain a basic understanding of congress as an institution, and the ways its structures, rules and processes shape and constrain its outcomes.
- To become adept at analyzing elements which influence the opportunities and possibilities of any particular congress.
- To gain skill in accessing and using information about congress.
- To improve knowledge about some dimensions of presidential-congressional relations.
- To develop a more complex understanding of the ways laws are made along with the pitfalls and promise of those ways.
The following books are required and may be purchased at Turtle Creek bookstore. Most also are on reserve in the library:
Davidson and Oleszek, Congress and Its Members, 9th ed. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2003.
Barbara Sinclair, Unorthodox Lawmaking, 2nd ed. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2000.
Cindy Simon Rosenthal, Women Transforming Congress. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 2002.
Lance T. LeLoup and Steven A Shull, The President and Congress: Collaboration and Combat in National Policymaking, 2nd ed. New York: Longman 2003. 0-321-10041-7
Optional for purchase, but we will reference it once:
Charles O. Jones, Separate But Unequal Branches, 2nd ed. New York: Chatham House/Seven Bridges, 1999.
Assignments:
Class citizenship–worth 10%. Come to class. Missing more the one class period will affect your grade. Do the readings and be prepared to discuss them intelligently. The quality of your work on bills and policy cases is included in this grade.
Chapter coverage—worth 10%. You will present two chapters from Women Transforming Congress, and provide a 1-3 page outline the class period prior to the discussion.
Exam 1–worth 10%. In up to 5 typed, double-spaced pages, looking primarily at congress and not other institutions, answer this question: “What characterizes the “nature” of congress: Describe key institutional features and briefly analyze the consequences of those features.” Hint: the congressional website (Thomas), as well as the organization of the texts and course, should provide some guidance.
Session Analysis–worth 15%. Working in dyads, follow the schema presented in class for analyzing the 104th, 105th, 106th, 107th and 108th congresses for institutional preponderance and balance. You should create a chart to encapsulate main points. (Bring an overhead to class and a hard copy for me). We will briefly present each congress in class, and you will use this information in your prediction for the 109th.
Predicting the 109th—15%. Using class materials and knowledge from other sessions, the web, an array of news sources, and trade and scholarly journals, use the schema to explain and predict the behavior and performance of the 109th congress. We will discuss these predictions in class. Must turn in your schema chart and an executive summary of 3-4 pages; complete bibliography of references is required.
Lawmaking Chart–worth 25%. Using the readings, on-line sources (Roll Call, The Hill), and traditional or scholarly sources (e.g., CQ Weekly, National Journal) describe and chart key features of one case of lawmaking. Assume your audience is the attentive public. Identify and analyze critical features of the process, key players, and outcomes. Make a chart of the process on an overhead or an e-image and provide me a hardcopy and 5-7 page summary with bibliography. What happened as this bill became (or not) a law?
Exam 2–worth 15%. In a 3 minute prepared!!!! Speech that responds to the following: “Given shared governance, U.S democracy would be stronger if congress were reformed… This exercise will be timed and cut at three minutes. Will hold evening exam session on March 14th.
